June 15, 2010
BRONX, N.Y. - The Women's College World Series is over, and the final polls and awards are out with Fordham finishing just outside both the ESPN.com/USA Softball and the USA Today/NFCA polls. Additionally, sophomore Jen Mineau (Schaghticoke, N.Y./Hoosic Valley Central) was selected by ESPN.com's Graham Hays as a member of ESPN's 2010 All-America team.
In the ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25, Fordham received 44 votes as the No. 26 team in the poll. The 44 votes were the most the Rams received all season. In the USA Today/NFCA poll, Fordham received 18 votes, five spots out of the top 25. UCLA was the No. 1 selection in both polls after winning the 2010 WCSW in Oklahoma City, Okla.
Additionally, Mineau was chosen to ESPN.com's All-America team released on June 14. Mineau is one of three pitchers, joining the USA Softball Player of the Year Danielle Lawrie and Kenzie Fowler from Arizona. All three pitchers were also selected as First Team All-American's by the NFCA.
The rest of ESPN.com's All-America team includes: catcher Meagan May (Texas A&M), first baseman Charlotte Morgan (Alabama), the Lowe's senior CLASS Award winner, second baseman Jen Yee (Georgia Tech), shortstop Katelyn Boyd (Arizona State), thirdbaseman Maggie Viefhaus (Michigan), outfielders Taylor Schlopy (Georgia), Kelly Majam (Hawaii) and Alissa Haber (Stanford) and utility players Megan Langenfeld (UCLA) and Valerie Ariota (California).
Hays had this to say about Mineau: "...check out Mienau's numbers against Texas A&M, California, Georgia Tech and Oklahoma: 31 innings pitched, 23 hits, 4 earned runs, 10 walks, 45 strikeouts. That's the mark of an ace who can shut down any lineup. Few pitchers have ever managed strikeout-to-walk numbers like 503 strikeouts to 34 walks."
Mineau recorded many awards this season, including selection to the 18-member 2010 Louisville Slugger®/NFCA All-American First Team, a top 10 Finalist for USA Softball's Player of the Year, First Team NFCA All-Mid-Atlantic, First Team All-ECAC, First Team All-District I for the ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-District Teams, Atlantic 10 Student-Athlete of the Year, First Team All-Atlantic 10, Atlantic 10 All-Tournament Team, Fordham's team MVP and Fordham's Co-Female Student-Athlete of the Year. She was named the Atlantic 10 Pitcher of the Week five times, ECAC Pitcher of the Week and Louisville Slugger®/NFCA National Player of the Week.
On June 15, the NCAA released the final statistical rankings and Fordham ended 2010 as the statistical leader in ERA (1.34), helped by Mineau who finished No. 3 in Division 1 with an individual ERA of 1.04. Fordham also finished third overall in fielding percentage with a 0.98 average.
Individually, Mineau was No. 2 in strikeouts per seven innings (12.5) and strikeouts (503) behind Atlantic 10 rival, Sara Plourde, who has the same average but more innings pitched. Plourde had 556 strikeouts. Mineau ranked fourth in walks allowed per seven innings (0.84), sixth in shutouts (15) and seventh in hits allowed per seven innings (3.62).
